Monthly Archives: April 2017

Portable Appliance Testing has become one of the most popular activities that enhance the safety of many electrical appliances in many areas.
PAT always ensures that electrical appliances are routinely checked for any defaults or malfunction.
Portable Appliance Testing may not be only necessary for home appliances, but also for businesses, hotel, school, hospitals or any other institution or organization that uses electrical appliances.
Because of the safety necessities of electric appliances, the market now has been filled by so many companies offering Portable Appliance Testing services.
Some of the companies are genuine, but others will only play scam on you.
Therefore, it is important that you consider different professionalism elements before falling for the services of any PAT company.
The following are the tips on How to decide on a Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) company;
1. Check on company certification and license
Certification is the most important aspect to consider before you make up your mind on choosing a particular PAT company.
If a company has a license and a certificate on Portable Appliance Testing services, then it means that it is operating legally, and you can trust them on different aspects.
A certified company will offer very quality and satisfactory services, unlike the uncertified ones.
In the case of any damages caused by the electric appliances, a licensed company will take care of everything because it usually has an insurance cover.
2. Look at the customer reviews
The customer reviews are always found on their website.
The reviews will show you the reactions of different clients, who have been served by the company before, concerning the quality of services they offer.
If the reviews have a higher percentage of positive comments, then you can make a decision of choosing that company.
But if the reviews have a higher percentage of negative comments, then you better avoid it.
3. Ask around
The best way to decide on a PAT company is to as your, friends, relatives or workmates.
Some of these people might have much information on the best Portable Appliance Testing Company in your locality.
They might also have the first-hand experience, as they might have been served by the company before.
So always consult before you make a decision on which company to be served with.
4. Look at the Company’s reputation
This means that you should look at how the company has been handling legal and ethical issues.
Consider what people say about the company and for how long it has been operating.
A company might have a poor reputation because of the poor services it offers, or the unqualified personnel who act as their staff members.
Such companies should be avoided at all cost because they are most likely not going to be helpful.
5. Do not look at the cost of their services.
It is not automatic that a company with very high service rates will offer excellent services, and the one with lower rates will offer poor services.
No, this is not true because the amount you pay for a service cannot determine the quality of the service.
What will determine the quality of the service is the experience, professionalism and the knowledge the PAT personnel has.
Before you decide on any PAT company, always ensure that you consider the above tips, for you to get quality and reliable services.

Portable appliance testing (abbreviated as PAT) is a name of a process through which electrical appliances are routinely checked to ensure that they are safe to use.

Testing involves visual inspection of the equipment and cables, and where required, inspection of grounding (earthing) wires, and a test of the stability of insulation between the current carrying wires and any exposed metal they might be touching.

Most electrical appliances defects can be found through visual examinations but there are some which can only be found through proper testing.

A user who has some basic training or is assisted by the use of a brief checklist can also perform a brief check which can be a very important part of any electrical maintenance regime.

However, a more formal visual check and testing is carried out by a trained and learned professional.

The frequency of this testing depends upon the type of appliance and the environment in which it is used.

There are some appliances which require examination more frequently than others.

One should keep a record of all previous inspections and testing. It can be a useful tool for monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the maintenance regime.

The test an appliance undergoes depends on the kind of appliance and its electrical class.

There are various types of tests such as an earth resistance test, earth continuity test; insulation resistance test, polarity check and safety switch tests.

An earth resistance test shows the resistance offered by the earthing rods with the connection leads.

The maximum value of the earthing resistance should be less than 1ohm. In an earth continuity test, the equipment is tested to ensure that the earthing conductor of an extension cord, protective earth circuit or appliance cord set has a measured resistance which does not exceed 1ohm. This test is carried out using an ohmmeter or a PAT tester.

An insulation resistance test is one in which a voltage is applied (particularly a highly controlled, stabilized DC voltage) to measure the amount of current flowing through the dielectric and then a resistance measurement is calculated using Ohm’s Law.

The resistance measurement is in mega ohms and is used to evaluate insulation integrity.

The insulation resistance test can be used as a quality control measure when a piece of electrical equipment is produced, an installation requirement to ensure that specifications and met and to verify proper hookup, to keep a periodic maintenance check and as a troubleshooting tool.

Another type of test carried out during PAT is the polarity test. In places where the sockets are polarized, polarity testing is a simple test that is carried out using a polarity tester to determine whether the active and neutral ends of the plug are correctly connected to the corresponding terminals at the socket end.

While the safety switch test has two methods. One is the press button method and the other is the applied current method.